far.serafini@AMES-VMSB.ARPA (03/06/86)
We have 2 780's running VMS that are part of a large DECnet installation. Until recently, one of the machines was little used because it lacked adequate terminal access. Now we're running a 10 Mbps Ethernet with terminal servers, so use on both machines should approach maximum very soon. The problem is that we've been getting away with an old and unreliable tape drive on the 2nd machine for backups. This isn't going to work once the RA81's in that machine fill up. We're already getting swamped with tapes, and it's going to get unbearable soon. Our tape drives are 800 and 1600 bpi, and we just don't have the money for a new $50K DEC 6250 drive. Does anybody out there have any imaginative solutions for handling backups? Respond to me directly, if possible, and I'll post any really good ideas to the net. Thanks in advance. Dave Serafini serafini@ames-aero.ARPA ------
ROODE%BIONET@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA (David Roode) (03/11/86)
One 6250 BPI TU78 can be dual-ported for use by two Massbuss controllers (one on each of two systems) for a hardware cost of about $5,000. If you already have one of these, it is the cheapest tape option for the second. -------